The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to comment on petition questioning its policy allowing inmates and detainees to vote in next year鈥檚 elections.
In a resolution, the high court gave Comelec 10 days upon receipt of the resolution to respond on the petition filed by聽lawyer Victor Aguinaldo.
Aguinaldo, in his petition said聽Comelec Resolution No. 9371聽which provided for registration and voting of incarcerated persons violates the constitutional provision requiring a voter to be a resident of the city or municipality where he or she will vote.
The resolution, according to Aguinaldo,聽鈥渉as imperfections, inadequacies聽and deficiencies in its applications, and thus, creating聽uncertainties, loopholes, gaps and ambiguities in its provisions,聽application and/or implementation.鈥� He said the resolution should be clarified or amended so that inmates from the聽New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and detainees in provincial, city and municipal jails nationwide to vote聽only for national elections.
He said incarceration is forced upon the inmates and detainees like聽former President and now聽Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon 鈥淏ong鈥� Revilla Jr., who are all detained while standing trial for聽plunder before the Sandiganbayan.
鈥淗ence, the question as to whether or not such聽detainees can vote locally or only in the national elections arises聽for the simple reason that when the said detainees were transferred to聽the said facilities, their residence requirement is forced upon them聽and not voluntary.鈥�
He added that allowing prisoners to vote, Petitioner argued that by letting the prisoners to vote would work for聽鈥渋njustice to those regular voters and to those absentee voters, such as the policemen and the media practitioners covering the elections.鈥�
Aguinaldo, however, clarified that he does not intend to聽disenfranchise the inmates and detainees and only wanted to settle the聽matter into its proper perspective. IDL